Stebbins



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C. STEBBINS. I I SEWING MAHINE. v

Patented Aug. 20, 11867 Mael/iwf wwwa? 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. v

@.sTzaBBIlvs.` SEWING MACHINE.

NQ.68,009. Patentedmg.2o,18e7.

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C.sTEnB1Ns,oF PIKE, New vonk. l Letters Patent No. 68,009, dated August 20, 186i'.

IMPROVEMENT IN SEWING MAGHINES TO ALL WOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be. it knovm that I, C.- STEBBINS, of Pike,I in the county of Wyoming, and State of' New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Sewing Machines; and I do hereby declare that'thc following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof,vwhich will enable others skilled in the art to make and` use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specilication, in which- Figure 1, sheet 1, is a side elevation showing mechanism for working the shuttle and the needle. l

Figure 2, a reverse'side view. v

Figure 3, sheet 2, a top view.

Figure 4, sheet 2, a detached view of the cloth-presser.

Figure 5, sheet 2, a detached view of the inside of the shuttle, showing the mode of threading.

Figure 6, a side view ot' the same.

Similar letters of reference indi-cate like parts.

This invention relatesto improvements in sewing machines, and consists in part of new and improved' mechanical devices whereby the movemcnt'of the needle-thread is regulated according to the varying thicknessof the material which is being sewed, insuch manner ,that slack thread shall be given when the eye of the needle reaches the surface of the material, in'order to enable the needle to doscendthrough the work, whatever may be the inequality in the thickness thereof.' By the same automaticmechanism the quantity of slack thread is provided for forming the loop to allow the shuttle to pass through freely. l y

Anotherpart of my improved sewing machine relates to the tensionV of the shuttle-thread in passing from fthe quill, by means of an interlocking of the thread with itself after passing in and out of the shuttle, in such a manner as to pull o' thread from the bobbin on the back stroke of the shuttle, while ontheforward stroke of the shuttle said thread becomes slack between a tension device and the bobbin, and is drawn through said tension device, whereby the final tightening tension upon the stitch is produced without the unevenness caused by running the thread directly from the bobbin to the work. Thus the interlocking arrangement of thethread i8 resolved into two distinct operations or movements, or two separatelyadj ustable and altern ately-acting .tensionl devices operating ou the same thread, seam, and stitch, resulting in great evenness of stitch, and requiring no change or adjustment of the tension from the full to the empty bobbin.

Another improvement consists in forming a curved passagefor the escape of the thread from the/throat of the needle, in order that it shall form a loop to pass freely around the shuttle while the needle itself passes down Withinthe face of the race, and cannot `come in contact-with the shuttle to subject it to the danger of i breaking. By this device the loop i-s` formed with positive certainty, at the proper time and place, for the passage of the shuttle through it. i I

Another improvement of my invention consists in a positive feed device, by the application of a horizontal feed-dog adjusted t0.a limited motion for each stitch according to the length required. This dog is moved forward to perform its work by means of a crank-or its equivalent, with which it is connected by a bar, the

l traversc'of the dog being regulated by an adjustable eccentric, so that the dog carries the cloth a certain distance positively for every stitch.

This device has the advantage of great simplicity in construction, silence in its operation, and certainty'ot movement. The length of the stitch is regulated by an index, at sight, without repeated trial. The movement of the needle is effected by an arrangement of devices for which Letters Patent were granted to me, dated March 25, 1862. l A

The driving-shaft L has a crank, M, attached, which gives motion to two connecting-rods, a al, one of which, q, operates the shuttle N, placed on a slide, b, and the other, al, operates the`needle O, suspended to the vibrating arm P by means of intervening connecting-rods a2 and a, as provided for by the Lctters'Patent aforesaid. The presser-foot or cloth-presser Q is provided with a spiral spring, c, to bear it down upon the work.

My improvement for regulating automatically the slack ofV the needlethread, for the free passage of the shuttle through the loop, consists of the following, devices and their operations: On theside of the vibrating needlearm P, opposite that already described, on which the shuttle is placed, a" thread-lifting lever, C, is pivoted, :,havng its short arm connected with a tension device, B, that is pivoted upon the stationary,supporting-arm H saone o The thread passes from the spool S over the loop d at the top of the tension device B, and downward between 'and around the disks c, thence upward through and overthesame loop d, thence under the long arm of the thread-lifting lever G, and through the eye at its extremity, and thence through a guide-loop or eye, d', on the lever E, down to theeye of the needle'O. The disks c of the tension device B are pressed together by the. spiral spring e, fig. 3, placed arlound the stemf, whichV is attached to a rocking-arm, F, that is pivoted on the supporting-arm R,'and receives its motion from the thread-lifting lever C, thus imparting to the tension device Blavibratingvmot'ion in concert with that of the thread-lifting lever. The lever E is pivoted on the headlof the supporting-arm R, and is connected by its sho-rt arm with the cloth-presser Q by a rod,`K. When the threadlifting leverl C is raised to the top of its vibrating stroke, the thread is carried forward through the tension device B, and drawn upward from the eye of the needle, tightening ,the seam.

The operation is twofold in its nature:

First, as the needle descends the thead is caught between the thread-'lifter and the catch A, when, by the combined action therewith 'of the tension device vB and the thread-lifting lever C, the thread is kept taut until the needle-eye strikes the cloth, at which moment the cast-oil` D, connected with the cloth-presser Q, iig. 4, releases the thread from the catch'A to allow the needle to carry it down through the work, and as the cast-oli` ,D is vmoved upwards or downwards through its connection with the cloth-presser, as it is raised or lowered uponthe surface of the cloth, slack thread isvthus given exactly according to the thickness of the material and its varying surface. A v Y Second, as the thread-lifting lever C further descends to supply the slack thread to form the loop through which the shuttle shall pass, the eye at the end of the lifting-lcver C passes by the loop or eye all on the lever i E, and then, should the cloth vary in thickness, the cloth-presser is raised or depressed thereby, and the eye d will be-so moved and regulated relatively tothe eye on the end of the thread-lifting leveras to let down more or lessslaek thread according to the thickness of the material and the inequality of the surface.

By the first partof the operation of the slack-'thread regulating devices the thread is prevented from breaking in the-changes from thick to thin, or thin to thick work, and greater evenness is insured to the laying of'the stitch and i-n the second part oi' the operation the advantage gainedis that of preventing the breaking of the needlethread by the loop being too small for the passage ofl the shuttle when the work is thick, and also keeping an equal tension upon the thread and seam, to produce-evennds's in the stitch.,

My improvement for 1 gulating thet'ension of the shuttle-thread consists in an interlocking arrangement, by passing thread from the -bobbin g, figs. '5, 6, out through a hole, 1, in theside ofthe shuttle, and under the constant bearins spring backward to and in through another hole, 2; thence forwardon the inside of the shell lto and outthrough another hole, 3; thence backward and under the thread, between 'the holes 1- and 2, over and not beneath'the spring z', to the work.v i y By this means perfect tension is secured during the whole unwindi'ng of the bobbin, requiring no change I from the full to thel empty bobbin. The interlocking shuttlethreadv tension device thus' embraces two separately adjusting and alternately acting operati-ons'upon the same thread, seam, and stitch.

My improvement for insuring the formation'of the' shuttle-loop at the proper time and place for'it to pass through consists in forming a curved passage' around a lip, h, fig. 1, through which the thread, when carried down by the needle, escapes from the needlefthroat, to pass around the shuttle, said passage being curved in such a manner as to prevent the needle coming in contact with the shuttle, to endanger it, and at the same time allow the free movement of the thread.` 'The formation oi' theloop' is thus made sure in time and place for the passage of Ithe shuttle lthrong-hit, without coming' in contact with the needle. y

My improved feed-motion consists in the sliding horizontal dog lc, iig. 1, that is provided with a serrated upper edge to bear 'against and hold the cloth, and isloosely connected with a reciprocating rod, m, operated by an eccentric, n, connected with the dri'ving-shaftdi. The rodfm is suspended by a stirrup, p, pivoted loosely tothe side of the machine. 'At the end of the dog lean eccentric, Z, is fixed rigidly on the stem of an in'dicater, T, and heid in place by a spiral spring, o, when it is turned around to give more or less reciprocating motion to the dog 7c, which comes up against it to regulate the length of its stroke, and consequently-adjust the feed for a shorter or longer stitch, as reoplired,- A The indicator 'll-points to an index, to show precisely and iin-the adjustment of the stitch by turning the eccentric -attached. to it. The -forward positive movement of the dog l7c, yto feed the cloth, is effected by the rod m, and the reverse movement is produced by a spring, q, conv necting it with the rod an brother suitable device. I. Having described the construction and operation of the several improvements in a sewing machine of my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is Y 1. '.lhe combination of the cloth-presser Q, the thread-lifting leverC, the tension device B, the catch A, the cast-oii` l), and the lever E, the said combination being organized substantially as described, so that by its mode of .operation slack shall be given to the thread according to the thickness of the work, when the eye oi' the needle reaches the surface of the cloth, as and for the purposes specified. y

2. Interlocking the shuttle-thread with itself, in its passage from the bobbin to the work, after passing in and out through the holes 1, 2, 3 in the shell, substantially as and for the purposes herein described.

The curved passage formed bythe lip h in the needle-throat, substantially as and for the purpose specied. l i

4. The combination of the eccentric/h, sliding-rod m, stirrup p, and dog k, substantially as herein shown and described, for the purpose specified. i

C. STE'BBINS.

I Witnesses:

A. -C. THOMPSON, l 

